Computer systems, computer-implemented devices, and related operating processes and communication protocols are well known. Many computer devices are designed to support network communication, e.g., Internet connectivity. Although the Internet is a very useful tool, it can also be used for a variety of malicious purposes. For example, phishing attacks, electronic virus distribution, and spamming can be carried out via the Internet. As another example, web bots can be written to perform activities (that are normally performed by human users) in an attempt to gather information or data that would otherwise not be readily available. In this regard, a web bot could be designed to impersonate a human user during an account registration or signup procedure for a website, a web-based service, or the like. The goal of this type of web bot is to collect information related to the validity of email addresses, usernames, or the like. Thus, a web bot can be programmed to iteratively attempt to register for a website using random email addresses or usernames while monitoring for a response (typically in the format of readable text) that indicates whether or not an entered email address or username has already been taken. Ultimately, the web bot can generate a list of valid email addresses for a given web domain, which can be valuable for purposes of spamming, hacking, or other nefarious activities.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have a technique or technology that can be used to thwart the efforts of web bots or other computerized approaches that attempt to read and interpret text-based responses associated with certain operations, functions, or procedures. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.